The Stowaway
by Daestwen
Summary: When the Indy meets a French Frigate in a storm, battle breaks out. Archie is almost killed - - but his savior is set to hang. *Chapter 2 newly added*
1. The Boy in the Bucket

Title: The Stowaway  
  
Part: 1/?  
  
Spoilers: In between "The Frogs and Lobsters" and "Mutiny"  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Summary: When a stowaway saves Archie, Horatio is put to a horrible problem. His duty, or his honour?  
  
Disclaimer: Horatio is not mine. Nor is dear Archie Kennedy or anyone else from the original series, they all belong to themselves.  
  
AN: Hehe, I'm just being silly . . . And you can be sure it's not a Mary- Sue or some *cough* other things would happen to Archie . . . hehehehehehe. . . not to mention the stowaway would be a girl somehow. . . Oh, and this is still aboard the Indy, yes indeed.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~***~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Mr. Hornblower!" Archie Kennedy shouted over the noise. His shout was barely audible, as the sea tried to destroy the Indefatigable with it's mighty waves, and sweep the sailors out to sea. "Mr. Hornblower!!" He repeated, until Horatio finally heard him and looked up from his place on the deck.  
  
"What is it, Mr. Kennedy?" He shouted back, the sea spray drowning him as he opened his mouth.  
  
"There is something caught in the sail, sir!" Archie cried back, shielding his face as another wave swept across the ship and through the rigging he was holding on to.  
  
"Styles! Get up there and help Mr. Kennedy. Look lively, now!" Horatio shouted.  
  
"Aye, aye sir!" Styles shouted back, as he started up the rigging.  
  
Horatio turned, as a sixth sense warned him of someone behind him, only to see Captain Pellew squinting up into the rigging.  
  
"Only one day from Plymouth, and already we're having problems." The Captain said over the noise.  
  
"Aye, sir, but Mr. Kennedy will have it fixed in a few moments."  
  
"Good to hear. Make sure that when this storm ends, Mr. Hornblower, you have someone take a good look at that sail and make sure we aren't running with any holes."  
  
"Aye, aye sir!" Horatio said, as he watched Styles and Archie battle with the sail above them.  
  
In a few minutes, the two sailors had loosed the sail, and Archie climbed back down to join Horatio on the watch. He gave a small salute to Captain Pellew, which received a small smile, before another fierce wave caused everyone to reach for the sides.  
  
"Good work, Mr. Kennedy." Pellew cried mildly over the waves, "I'll take over your watch. You and Mr. Hornblower can return below decks."  
  
"Aye, aye sir!" Horatio and Archie said together, before disappearing to the wardroom.  
  
  
  
"Well, Horatio, don't you look tired this evening. What's on your mind?"  
  
"Oh. Nothing, Archie." Horatio said as Archie sat down in the chair opposite him in the wardroom. The waves were still crashing on the windows, and the boat tipped dangerously from side to side, threatening to spill the wine on the table.  
  
Archie gave a small half smile as he leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes for a minute. "That's what they always say, Mr. Hornblower." He said softly. "And I for one never believe it."  
  
Horatio sighed, as he slid down the chair slight, as if he had become twice as heavy. "Something's not right, Archie. And I don't know why . . ."  
  
Archie's smile faded and his eyes opened to permit a sidelong glance at Horatio. "What do you mean?" He asked carefully.  
  
"I mean that I'm uneasy, Mr. Kennedy."  
  
Archie sat up, twisting his shoulders so that the fabric of his jacket did not scratch so violently across his back. Horatio was worried, and Archie knew well enough that when his friend was worried, everyone else should be too.  
  
"Do you have any idea what it - -"  
  
"No." Horatio interrupted. "I just . . . know."  
  
Archie opened his mouth to reply, but was cut short by a shout from aboard deck.  
  
"All hands on deck!! All hands on deck!!"  
  
Archie and Horatio shot a look at each other, before both of them leapt from their seats and headed to the deck.  
  
  
  
"How close is it?" Captain Pellew yelled at the man in the rigging, as it swung dangerously, trying to tear the man from the ship.  
  
"About a mile, sir, and gaining fast!!" The man cried frantically, before he clung to the ropes as a giant wave plummeted down upon the ship. By the time Pellew looked up again, the man was gone.  
  
"Damn this blasted weather!!" The Captain cried to himself, and then added, "Mr. Kennedy, over here if you please!" As he saw Archie and Horatio arrive on the deck.  
  
"What's going on, sir?" Horatio asked.  
  
"There is a damned French frigate a mile from us, Mr. Hornblower, and we're stuck in this foul storm, THAT'S what's going on." Captain Pellew said irritably, then turned to Mr. Kennedy. "You did some fine work up in the rigging this evening, Mr. Kennedy, care for another go?"  
  
"Aye, aye sir!" Archie cried, and ran over the mast, shielding himself from the rain and the spray as he went. Horatio watched his friend climb to the top, and pull out his telescope.  
  
"Well, what do you see, Mr. Kennedy?" Pellew yelled up at him.  
  
"Five hundred yards and gaining, sir!!" Archie cried. "They're cleared for battle, sir!"  
  
"Thank you, Mr. Kennedy, and return down here at once! Mr. Hornblower, we will clear for action."  
  
"Aye, aye sir. CLEAR FOR ACTION!!"  
  
The shouts took over the ship as the crew all ran to their stations.  
  
  
  
"FIRE!" Lieutenant Horatio Hornblower cried as Matthews pulled the trigger on the cannon, sending a plume of smoke, and a large cannonball, across the water. The battle had started twenty minutes earlier, and both crews were slowly getting exhausted, as neither seemed to be winning.  
  
"We can't keep this up for long, Horatio." Archie called from a nearby cannon, before he shouted: "FIRE!" and let off another cannonball.  
  
"I know, Archie, but what else do we do? Load!"  
  
"Something!!"  
  
"FIRE!"  
  
Suddenly the ships crashed side against side, and the battle was immediate. Blood spewed in all directions as Archie and Horatio fought their way through the Frenchmen, unable to see more than four feet ahead due to the frenzy. The screams and shout became an indistinctive blur, as French and English alike fought desperately to keep themselves from being killed.  
  
"Mr. Hornblower!!" Archie cried as he spotted a small group of Frenchmen disappear below the deck. He leapt forward and ran, not daring to waste time to look back to see if his friend was following him.  
  
Horatio turned just in time to see Archie disappear, and immediately sprung after him, leaping the wounded in single bounds, and hoping to god his friend knew what he was getting into.  
  
  
  
Horatio's eyes hardly needed to adjust to the light inside the ship, since the stormy light outside was around the same. It was oddly silent, the only sounds the muffled screams and clattering from above seeming too far away to be real. Finally, he heard a closer sound – the sound of swordplay, the deadly ringing of metal upon metal filling the air, and he turned the corner to see Archie give the final blow, and the Frenchman fall to the floor.  
  
Time seemed to slow to a horrible pace as Horatio watched Archie look up, eyes gleaming at him. Horatio's eyes saw past him. Saw the other bloodied Frenchman stand up behind Archie. Saw the pistol being drawn. Then suddenly, a water barrel to the side seemed to explode outward, and a dark figure hit Archie so hard that they both toppled to the ground, in the same second that the pistol in the Frenchman's gun fired. The bullet flew straight through the air which Archie had inhabited seconds before. Missing Horatio, the lieutenant raised his own gun, and shot the Frenchman where he stood.  
  
Time sped to normal speed once again, to reveal to Horatio just how fast his heart was beating. He was frozen for a few minutes before he turned back to Archie.  
  
The acting-lieutenant was on the floor, another person lying beside him, arms thrown up over the shadowed head.  
  
"Archie, are you alright?"  
  
"Just fine, Horatio . . ." Archie said with a small smile as he stood up. "Thanks to him."  
  
The figure on the ground stayed where it had fallen, either too scared or too smart to move.  
  
"Get up, sir." Horatio said, his voice cold and hard. There was no question about it. The man who had just saved his best friend was a stowaway.  
  
The figure cringed slightly at the voice and stood. Horatio's eyes widened.  
  
The boy could not have been older than 15, the short-cropped flaming red hair framing his pale face. He trembled with fear as his bright green eyes searched Horatio for any sign as to what would happen to him. Horatio frowned, as Archie walked over to him, standing so they were both facing the boy.  
  
"Explain yourself, sir." Horatio said coldly.  
  
"I-I am H-Henry Dru-Drummer, sir . . . I. . . I . . ."  
  
"How did you come to be here, sir? May I remind you that the penalty for stowing away is death."  
  
The boy gulped visually, a trickle of sweat travelling down the side of his face.  
  
"I ran . . ." He swallowed, shut his eyes, and then continued, the stammer and fear apparently gone from his voice. "I ran away, sir. I only meant to be aboard at port, sir, but I was stuck when we left Plymouth."  
  
"You realize that Mr. Hornblower should hang you, don't you?" Archie said quietly, his place on Horatio's right making the lieutenant even more uncomfortable.  
  
Henry opened his mouth, but apparently didn't trust his voice, so he shut it and merely nodded.  
  
"Why did you give up your hiding place, Mr. Drummer?"  
  
"Sir?"  
  
"Why did you give up your hiding place?" Horatio repeated.  
  
"Sir . . . The frog was about to shoot . . . I couldn't just . . ."  
  
"Just let me get shot." Archie finished. The boy nodded.  
  
"But you knew the penalty for being found . . ." Horatio continued.  
  
"Yes, sir." Henry said quietly.  
  
"And yet you risked being hanged to save Mr. Kennedy."  
  
"Yes, sir." His voice was a mere whisper.  
  
Horatio frowned. This was going to be harder than he thought.  
  
"Horatio . . ." Archie whispered, his hand moving to grip Horatio's sleeve lightly, "The boy just saved my life."  
  
T.B.C. 


	2. A Meeting With Pellew

Title: The Stowaway

Part: 2/?

Spoilers: In between "The Frogs and Lobsters" and "Mutiny"

Rating: PG-13

Summary: When a stowaway saves Archie, Horatio is put to a horrible problem. His duty, or his honour?

Disclaimer: Horatio is not mine. Nor is dear Archie Kennedy or anyone else from the original series, they all belong to themselves.

AN: Hehe, I'm just being silly . . . And you can be sure it's not a Mary- Sue or some *cough* other things would happen to Archie . . . hehehehehehe. . . not to mention the stowaway would be a girl somehow. . . Oh, and this is still aboard the Indy, yes indeed.

~~~*~~~

"We'll have to take him to Pellew…" Horatio said finally, looking at Drummer but speaking to Archie. Archie nodded, but his lips were curved in a small frown as he also looked at the boy.

"We'll stand up for him, though?"

"Yes… He did save your life. But remember, Mr. Kennedy, that Pellew has every right to hang him."

"I know." Archie said quietly, then turned to Drummer and spoke a little louder, "Come then, Mr. Drummer, we are taking you to see Captain Pellew. He will most likely hang you, so you must be on your best behaviour. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir." The boy said quietly. 

"Good. To Pellew, then."

~~

"He hid in one of the water barrels?" Pellew inquired, his eyebrow arched as he looked at the odd trio before him. The boy was shaking, and his lieutenants were stiff as boards – most amusing.

"Yes, sir." Horatio replied.

"And he saved Mr. Kennedy?"

"Yes, sir."

"I see…" Pellew looked down at the papers on his desk, and shuffled through them mindlessly as he did when he was thinking.

"And your name is Henry Drummer?" 

Drummer looked a little startled to be spoken to, but answered readily enough. "Yes, sir."

"And why did you run away, Mr. Drummer?"

"My father bought me a commission, sir… As an Ensign, sir. In the army." Drummer spoke quietly, and both Horatio and Archie turned slightly to look at each other. They had not heard _this_ part. Pellew raised an eyebrow.

"The army? Did you not want to go?"

"No, sir." Drummer's voice was just above a whisper now, half in awe and half in fear of the Captain before him.

"Were you afraid, Mr. Drummer?" 

"No, sir." He replied, with a surprising amount of conviction. 

"If you were not afraid, Mr. Drummer, why then did you run away?"

"I hate him, sir, begging your pardon. He wanted me to be an officer, so I didn't." It wasn't spoken harshly, but with more of a sad tone behind it. Pellew felt himself becoming intrigued, and struggled to keep it down.

"So you risked your life by stowing away on one of His Majesty's Frigates. For which, you realise, you could soon be dangling from the yardarm."

Drummer gulped, and Archie opened his mouth to protest, but shut it when he saw the look Horatio threw at him.

"However, Mr. Drummer, it comes to my mind that you have already bought a commission for service with His Majesty… Are you willing to serve it?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then I shall give you a chance, Mr. Drummer. Just one." All three of the men before him relaxed visibly. "I shall give you your life, Mr. Drummer, in exchange for the life you gave to one of my Lieutenants. But I shall be quick to take it back, Mr. Drummer, if I feel you do not deserve that chance."

Drummer nodded vigourously. "Yes, sir. Aye aye, sir. Thank you, sir."

"Very good. Mr. Kennedy, if you would please escort Mr. Drummer to the Midshipman's mess…"

"Midshipman's mess, sir?" Drummer interrupted, the surprise obvious in his voice.

"I believe that the admiralty will soon be receiving payment for a commission of a Midshipman, from a Captain that found a very worthy man already among his crew." His eyes twinkled, and Drummer grinned and followed Kennedy out of the Captain's quarters.

"You're a good man, sir." Hornblower said as he turned to go.

"Too good, Mr. Hornblower. Too good."

***


End file.
